Methods for providing stand-in services for transaction card customization

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to methods for providing stand-in services for transaction card customization, wherein a transaction card franchiser provides the stand-in services for the transaction card issuer with regard to transaction card applicant email notification with respect to approval/rejection decisions and/or billing the transaction card applicant for the cost of a new transaction card on behalf the transaction card issuer.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/800,947, filed May 17, 2006, the content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention broadly relates to transaction card customization and moreparticularly to methods for providing stand-in services for transactioncard customization.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Transaction cards, such as credit cards, debit cards, membership cards,promotional cards, frequent flyer cards, and identification cards, arewidely used throughout the world. Such transaction cards may include avariety of different indicia to identify the card, the individual usingthe card, a transaction account (e.g., a transaction card account), andother features. The indicia may include a string of alphanumericcharacters, a bar code or an encoded magnetic strip attached to thecard. Transaction cards related to financial transactions have amagnetic stripe which runs longitudinally across the face of one side ofthe card and have a plurality of numbers, expiration date and a nameembossed thereon.

It is known to apply a customized image to a membership card, debitcard, or other transaction card. Specifically, the customized image maybe created and applied to the card from a remote location such as at theapplicant's computer, wherein the applicant may edit the customizedimage using software operated by a website server. However, such methodssuffer from a number of known drawbacks, including a failure to providestand-in services for transaction card customization.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods for providing stand-inservices for transaction card customization, wherein a transaction cardfranchiser provides the stand-in services for the transaction cardissuer with regard to transaction card applicant email notification withrespect to approval/rejection decisions and/or billing the transactioncard applicant for the cost of a new transaction card on behalf thetransaction card issuer.

According to the invention, a preferred method for providing emailnotification for transaction card customization on behalf of atransaction card issuer comprises the steps of (i) receiving acustomized transaction card image that is submitted for approval by atransaction card applicant, (ii) storing the customized image on adatabase of a transaction card franchiser, (iii) sending emailinformation of the applicant to an email generation engine, (iv)reviewing the customized image submitted by the applicant, (v) approvingor rejecting the customized image and (vi) generating an approval orrejection email and sending the email to the applicant. Moreparticularly, steps (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) are performed by thetransaction card issuer, while step (vi) is performed by the transactioncard franchiser on behalf of the transaction card issuer. The customizedimage may be submitted for approval by the transaction card applicantusing a card customization services website of the transaction cardissuer, wherein the applicant is prompted to provide email informationalong with the customized image. In step (v), an image reviewer of thetransaction card issuer approves or rejects the customized image basedon predetermined image guidelines. In step (vi), the approval orrejection email may comprise an automatically generated, pre-formatted,approval or rejection email.

According to further embodiments of the invention, a method forproviding email notification for transaction card customization onbehalf of a transaction card issuer, comprises the steps of (i)receiving a customized transaction card image that is submitted forapproval by a transaction card applicant, (ii) storing the customizedimage on a database of a transaction card franchiser, (iii) sendingemail information of the applicant to an email generation engine, (iv)approving or rejecting the customized image, and (v) generating anapproval or rejection email and sending the email to the applicant,wherein steps (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) are performed by the transactioncard issuer, and wherein step (v) is performed by the transaction cardfranchiser on behalf of the transaction card issuer.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, a preferred methodfor billing an applicant on behalf of a transaction card issuercomprises the steps of (i) sending an approved customized transactioncard image of an applicant to a database of the transaction card issuer,(ii) sending information about the applicant and the cost of the newtransaction card to a transaction formatter, (iii) reformatting theinformation to produce a billing authorization record and submitting therecord to a clearing system of a transaction card franchiser, (iv)directly applying the cost of the new transaction card to an account ofthe applicant within a billing system of the transaction card issuer,and (v) mailing an invoice statement to the applicant including the costof the new transaction card. Steps (i), (ii), (iii) and (v) areperformed by the transaction card issuer, whereas step (iv) is performedby the transaction card franchiser on behalf of the transaction cardissuer. According to some embodiments, step (ii) is performed using asecure transfer mechanism including a franchiser firewall, and step(iii) is performed by the transaction formatter.

Additional embodiments of the invention involve a method for billing atransaction card applicant for the cost of a new customized transactioncard on behalf of a transaction card issuer, comprising the steps of (i)sending an approved customized transaction card image of an applicant toa database of the transaction card issuer, (ii) producing a billingauthorization record including the cost of the new transaction card andsubmitting the record to a clearing system of a transaction cardfranchiser, and (iii) directly applying the cost of the new transactioncard to an account of the applicant within a billing system of thetransaction card issuer. Steps (i) and (ii) are performed by thetransaction card issuer, while step (iii) is performed by thetransaction card franchiser on behalf of the transaction card issuer.The billing authorization record may be produced by a transactionformatter, which reformats information about the applicant and the costof the new transaction card, wherein this information is sent to thetransaction formatter using a secure transfer mechanism including afranchiser firewall. The method may further comprise the step of mailingan invoice statement to the applicant including the cost of the newtransaction card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating card customization processflow, in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for transaction cardcustomization, in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating preferred methods forproviding stand-in services for transaction card customization, inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following paragraphs, the present invention will be described indetail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings.Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shownshould be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on thepresent invention. As used herein, the “present invention” refers to anyone of the embodiments of the invention described herein, and anyequivalents. Furthermore, reference to various feature(s) of the“present invention” throughout this document does not mean that allclaimed embodiments or methods must include the referenced feature(s).

The present invention is directed to methods for providing stand-inservices for transaction card customization. For example, the inventiondiscloses a method for providing email notification for transaction cardcustomization on behalf of a transaction card issuer, comprising thesteps of logging onto a card customization services website andsubmitting a customized image, storing the customized image on afranchiser database, sending the applicant's email information to anemail generation engine, reviewing the customized image submitted by theapplicant, approving or rejecting the customized image based onpredetermined image guidelines, and automatically generating apre-formatted approval or rejection email that is sent to the applicant.It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that theprinciples described herein may be applied to many types of transactioncards such as debit cards, credit cards, ATM cards, membership cards,identification cards and frequent flyer cards, without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

Another method of the invention involves billing applicants on behalf ofa transaction card issuer. In particular, the method comprises the stepsof sending approved customized images to an issuer database, sendingbasic information about the applicant and an associated transaction to atransaction formatter, reformatting the information to produce a billingauthorization record and submitting the record to a clearing system,directly applying a transaction to the appropriate applicant account inthe issuer's billing system, and mailing an invoice statement to theapplicant.

According to the principles of the invention, custom-designedtransaction cards may be provided for both existing and new applicants.Customization may be offered through a country-specific website for newaccounts during the application process or for existing accounts afterlog-on has occurred. The card customization process enables applicantsto customize the front of the card using a dedicated website that isaccessed through the issuer's website. Applicants may select personalphotos, artwork or any image (subject to image-review standards) forplacement on the card. The customization process allows applicants toupload a personal image, refine and design the final look of the card,and submit the final image for image review. The invention is designedto facilitate complete issuer control with minimal impact to theinternal acquisition and account maintenance infrastructure. Issuersmanage digital images stored on a card customization system, whilefunctional tools available to issuers accommodate image approval orrejection for printing subject to predetermined minimum designstandards. Upon approval, an image file is created and sent to theissuer. The issuer then formats the print image and applicant accountinformation (e.g., applicant name, account number, and expiration date)into a merged record. A file is created and sent to the issuer'sselected card production service provider for printing, personalizationand distribution.

Referring to FIG. 1, a flowchart 10 is provided illustrating the cardcustomization process flow including custom card image creation, issuerimage review, and card production. Initially, an applicant 14 accessesan issuer website 16. Upon entering the appropriate information such asan applicant name and password, the applicant 14 is passed through anaccess portal 20 to a card customization services website 24 (providedby a transaction card franchiser) for adding a customized image on afront surface of their transaction card. In accordance with theprinciples of the invention, the customized image is subject to reviewby the issuer and/or an image administrator of the franchiser.

With further reference to FIG. 1, custom card image creation isperformed on the card customization services website 24, whereby theapplicant 14 uploads a personal image, creates a custom image andsubmits the image to the issuer for approval. This information may bestored in a franchiser image database 28 as well as in an issuerdatabase 44. With respect to issuer image review, an issuer 32 mayaccess an online image administrator website 40 via an issuer accessportal 36. On the image administrator website 40, the issuer 32 conductsan image review and submits the results including an approval orrejection of the image to the issuer database 44. For each applicant 14,an account data file 50 from the issuer database 44 is combined with acorresponding image data file 54 from the issuer database 44 to form acomposite merged file 58. With regard to card production, the mergedfile 58 is sent to a card producer 62 for production and distribution ofthe customized card 66 to the appropriate applicant 14. The process mayoptionally involve a card distributor 70, such as a bank or otherdistributor, for delivering the customized card 66 to the appropriateapplicant 14.

Referring to FIG. 2, a system 100 for transaction card customization inaccordance with the principles of the present invention comprises aplurality of issuer country websites 112, 114, 116, a centralized issuerhub 120, card customization services 124, an image administrator 126, asyndication layer 130, and a plurality of dedicated country-specificwebsites 132, 134, 136. The system 100 of the invention provides acentralized solution offering a single point of website integration.Applicants may enter the system 100 at a browser-based user interfacethrough their local issuer country website 112, 114, 116. Each localissuer country website 112, 114, 116 may be implemented using its ownproprietary computer software application. The image administrator 126may be implemented using a computer software application comprisingmachine readable or interpretable instructions for controlling a remoteimage processor for approving or rejecting various applicant images.After card customization, the system 100 may be employed to route cardcustomization files to one or more card finishers for production.

According to the invention, the centralized issuer hub 120 may comprisea server that coordinates all traffic among the issuer country websites112, 114, 116, the card customization services 124, and the imageadministrator 126. Card customization services may comprise a website124 that recognizes the issuer country and processes applicant requests.In this manner, information provided by the applicant is used to launcha dedicated country-specific website 132, 134, 136, whereby thesyndication layer 130 “wraps” the correct country-specific contentaround a base website and serves up a country-specific version of thebase website to the applicant's browser. The base website includes thecore components that make up the consumer-facing card customizationsoftware application, wherein the same base code may be reused for allcustomers. The base website includes basic features and functionalitywithout any issuer-specific enhancements or issuer-specific brandingsuch as foreign language, colors, artwork and website links.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the card customization serviceswebsite 124 may be implemented using a computer software applicationcomprising machine readable or interpretable instructions formanipulation of remote images. In particular, the software applicationmay comprise a browser-based user interface displaying a graphicalrepresentation of an image that is uploaded by an applicant from aremote location, wherein the image may be manipulated by the applicantfrom the remote location. By way of example, the original applicantimage may be uploaded from the customer's own computer. Regarding imagemanipulation, the applicant may perform operations such as imagerotating, image re-sizing, image flipping, image mirroring, and imagepositioning including placing the original image within a window regionof the card. According to the invention, the final image displayed onthe transaction card may be restricted to a predetermined area on thetransaction card, such that the rest of the card may contain featuressuch as logos, holograms and card type indicators.

In operation, the card customization services website 124 preferablymirrors the issuer country website 112, 114, 116. Accordingly, issuersparticipating in the program coordinate with card customization servicesto prepare system interface branding elements and artwork that appear onboth websites. Elements for such system interface branding may includewithout limitation: (1) an issuer logo; (2) a link for issuer home inthe footer; (3) a link for privacy policy in the footer; (4) a link for“Contact Us” in the footer; (5) terms and conditions; (6) a cardcustomization and tag line; (7) all images on the site; (8) a sitelanguage translation (if not English); (9) a color scheme for header,text and buttons; (10) font; (11) frequently asked questions; (12) anapproved electronic card form in vector format. In addition, a vectorcard format file may appear as an “overlay” to provide applicants with asubstantially exact replica of the card as it will be received.Accordingly, the overlay preferably shows all account informationplacement (i.e., “valid thru” date, embossing, issuer logo, etc.) andcard attributes (i.e., MIA, engraved areas, etc).

Upon completion of the applicant image submission and return to theappropriate issuer country website 112, 114, 116, card customizationinformation is stored on the issuer country website 112, 114, 116 usinga token unique-ID and the image file name. Issuers receive the imagesand image information from card customization services 124 for storageafter receiving custom card image approval or rejection. For example,card customization services 124 may create a zip file of card images fortransmission to the issuer. The zip file may contain one or more imagefiles created using an image ID as the filename and a comma separatedvalue (CSV) file having fields including, but not limited to (i) imageID, (ii) date created, (iii) status date (last action date), (iv) status(approved or rejected), (v) reject reason ID (if applicable), and

With further reference to FIG. 2, the system 100 includes one or moreintegration points 140, 142 wherein the card customization softwareapplication interacts with the issuer's software application. Morespecifically, integration point 140 is disposed between the centralissuer hub 120 and card customization services 124. At integration point140, the issuer's software application is integrated with the cardcustomization software application, such that the applications functionsubstantially seamlessly as one consistent application. Another point ofintegration (integration point 142) is disposed between the centralissuer hub 120 and the image administrator 126. At integration point142, the issuer's application software is integrated with the imageadministrator software application, so that the applications functionsubstantially seamlessly as one consistent application. Particularly,integration point 142 refers to the transfer of approved or rejectedimage information to the issuer country website 112, 114, 116, so thatthe appropriate issuer knows which cards to produce, and which cards topass to their customer service department (e.g., for cards containingrejected images).

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the issuer countrywebsites 112, 114, 116 are the entry point for an applicant to locatetheir issuer (e.g., the applicant's on-line banking provider). When theapplicant is passed to card customization services 124 to complete thecustomization function, the applicant is served up a dedicatedcountry-specific website 132, 134, 136 for card customization. Accordingto the invention, each dedicated country-specific website 132, 134, 136may contain its own language, branding, advertising and other qualities,depending on the country of origin of the selected issuer countrywebsite 112, 114, 116. Additionally, the preferred system 100 of theinvention provides an automatic upgrading of all dedicated websites 132,134, 136 simultaneously. More particularly, any changes applied to basewebsite functionality may be automatically enabled on each issuercountry website 132, 134, 136. Otherwise, the appropriate changes wouldhave to be entered manually with respect to each individual dedicatedwebsite 132, 134, 136.

Referring to FIG. 3, in accordance with the principles of the invention,various methods for providing stand-in services 300 for transaction cardcustomization will now be described. In particular, a transaction cardfranchiser provides stand-in services for a transaction card issuer withregard to (i) applicant email notification, and (ii) applicant billingon behalf the transaction card issuer. With respect to emailnotification, in step 310 an applicant 315 on an issuer website logsonto a card customization services website 325 (having a firewall 327)and submits a customized image and an appropriate email address. Step320 involves storing the customized image on a transaction card database335 of the transaction card franchiser. In step 330, the applicant'semail information is sent to an email generation engine 345.

In step 340, an image reviewer 355 of the transaction card issuer logsonto the image administrator 365 and reviews the customized imagesubmitted by the applicant 315. After reviewing the customized image,the image reviewer 355 approves or rejects the image content based onpredetermined image guidelines. Step 350 involves the imageadministrator 365 utilizing the email generation engine 345 toautomatically generate a pre-formatted approval or rejection email thatis sent to the applicant 315. In this manner the transaction cardfranchiser stands-in for the transaction card issuer on a key customerservice contact.

With further reference to FIG. 3, a preferred method for providingstand-in services 300 for billing an applicant 315 on behalf of atransaction card issuer will now be described. Specifically, thetransaction card franchiser has the unique ability to submit a billingtransaction directly to a franchiser clearing system 305, thusfacilitating a direct charge to the applicant 315 on behalf of thetransaction card issuer for the express purpose of billing for the costof a newly ordered customized transaction card. According to the method,the transaction card issuer permits the transaction card franchiser tobill the applicant 315 for the cost of the newly ordered customizedtransaction card, without having to generate the billing transactioninternally.

The preferred method for providing stand-in services 300 for billing anapplicant 315 on behalf of a transaction card issuer begins with step360, wherein the image administrator 365 sends approved customizedimages to an issuer database 375. Step 370 involves the transaction cardissuer sending basic information about the applicant 315 and theassociated transaction (e.g., cost, etc.) to a transaction formatter 385of the transaction card franchiser using a secure transfer mechanismincluding the franchiser firewall 327. In step 380, the information isreformatted to produce a billing authorization record, which is thensubmitted to the franchiser clearing system 305. In step 390, atransaction is directly applied to the appropriate applicant account inthe issuer's customer card billing system 395. This step is performed bythe transaction card franchiser on behalf of the transaction cardissuer. In step 396, the transaction card issuer mails an invoicestatement to the home 398 (or other billing address) of the appropriateapplicant 315.

The image administrator 126 disclosed herein is used in the process ofimage approval, rejection and review. Using a predetermined set of imageguidelines (such as including a list of prohibited subject matter), anissuer reviewer 315 decides whether to approve or reject the image. Toapprove an image, an “Approve” button is clicked followed by a “Submit”button, which completes the review/approval process. Rejected imagesfollow the same process except that a “Reject” button is clicked and aseries of reject reason descriptors are displayed, wherein all rejectreasons that apply are checked. Additionally, the image administrator126 may include an image archive that stores previously reviewed images.This information is used to provide an historical reference to provideprecedence with respect to the types of images that have been approvedor rejected. Each stored image may be referenced by the date of approvalor rejection, the original date of receipt, the date of initial reviewand the reasons for rejection. The image administrator 126 preferablyprovides issuer reviewers 315 with various tools for image review. Theseimage administrator tools may be accessed through the centralized issuerhub 120.

According to the invention, card issuers are responsible for providinginitial image review including the rejection of inappropriate images.Prohibited subject matter for a customized images on any transactioncard may include without limitation: (1) sexual subject matter of anynature; (2) political subject matter of any nature (except if theaffinity or co-branded partner is a political organization); (3)offensive racial/prejudicial subject matter of any nature; (4) offensivereligious subject matter of any nature; (5) advertising of any nature;(6) a portrait of an adult (including the applicant) intended foridentification purposes; (7) self-promotion of any nature (e.g.,personal business card); (8) copyrighted material of any nature; (9)branded products/services, including abbreviations, acronyms and/orsymbols of any nature (except those identities approved for co-brandedcard programs); (10) solicitations, including telephone numbers orservices of any nature (e.g., 900 or 800 numbers); (11) celebrities,musicians, athletes, entertainers, public figures, etc., of any nature;(12) affiliation with groups that are determined to be of a “sociallyunacceptable” nature; (13) subject matter of any nature that mightresult in card acceptance confusion by merchants; and (14) subjectmatter of any nature that might result in card fraud.

According to the invention, applicant access to the card customizationservices website is initiated through a selected issuer country websiteby creating a message requesting access to the card customizationwebsite. An issuer created token may required in the header area of themessage to identify the issuer as a participant in the program prior towebsite connection. By way of example, tokens may be created usingvarious data elements including bank name, ICA, returning URL, portfolioand a unique ID. The returning URL data element contains the cardcustomization services web address. The unique ID data element uniquelyidentifies an applicant and facilitates mapping of the custom card imageto the transaction card. Accordingly, each applicant access requestcontains a unique ID regardless of whether two or more applicants are“linked” to the same account. For example, if a husband and wife aresharing an account (i.e., both applicants are “linked” to the sameprimary account number) and each submits an access request for a customcard image, a separate unique ID is created for each submission.

The browser-based user interface is used to locate a preferred applicantimage, select the image and upload the image. Image upload may be from ascanner, internet or any other medium device able to interface with theapplicant's computer. Card customization may involve the use of imagemanipulation functions that allow applicants to rotate, flip, reset orresize the custom image to reflect the exact position the image willappear on the card. Using WYSIWYG (“What You See Is What You Get”)technology, the card image shown on the site will be substantially anexact replica of what will appear on the actual issued card. Once theapplicant has determined the precise image fit on the card, the designmay be previewed prior to submission. If satisfied, the applicantselects a “Submit” button and the confirmation screen appears.

The resulting image files are very large given the amount of pixels eachimage requires, thus presenting certain challenges with respect to filetransfer and storage. Accordingly, operations and systems efforts arecoordinated to ensure maximum efficiencies in file processing. Issuersparticipating in the program may provide information concerningprojected system use including the number of card programs to beemployed. Additionally, for each program provided, the issuer mayprovide information including, but not limited to: (1) the number ofapplicants in the program; (2) the projected percentage of applicantparticipation in the program; (3) the projected rate of applicant customimage requests (e.g., number of cards per time period); (4) the numberof years the program is expected to reach its peak; (5) the timing ofplanned promotions/advertising that would direct traffic to the site toinclude the expected increase in traffic resulting from thepromotion/advertising; (6) the capacity of the internet connection tothe server on which the image file will be received; and (7) theestimated image size (maximum of two megabytes for each image).

Thus, it is seen that methods for providing stand-in services fortransaction card customization are provided. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than thevarious embodiments and preferred embodiments, which are presented inthis description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, andthe present invention is limited only by the claims that follow. It isnoted that equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in thisdescription may practice the invention as well.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams maydepict an example architectural or other configuration for theinvention, which is done to aid in understanding the features andfunctionality that may be included in the invention. The invention isnot restricted to the illustrated example architectures orconfigurations, but the desired features may be implemented using avariety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it willbe apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional,logical or physical partitioning and configurations may be implementedto implement the desired features of the present invention. Also, amultitude of different constituent module names other than thosedepicted herein may be applied to the various partitions. Additionally,with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and methodclaims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall notmandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recitedfunctionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.

Although the invention is described above in terms of various exemplaryembodiments and implementations, it should be understood that thevarious features, aspects and functionality described in one or more ofthe individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to theparticular embodiment with which they are described, but instead may beapplied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the otherembodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments aredescribed and whether or not such features are presented as being a partof a described embodiment. Thus the breadth and scope of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments.

Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unlessotherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposedto limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” shouldbe read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like; the term“example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item indiscussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof, the terms “a” or“an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more” or thelike; and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,”“standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construedas limiting the item described to a given time period or to an itemavailable as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompassconventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may beavailable or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, wherethis document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known toone of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass thoseapparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in thefuture.

A group of items linked with the conjunction “and” should not be read asrequiring that each and every one of those items be present in thegrouping, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly statedotherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction “or”should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, butrather should also be read as “and/or” unless expressly statedotherwise. Furthermore, although items, elements or components of theinvention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated to be within the scope thereof unless limitation to thesingular is explicitly stated.

The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “atleast,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instancesshall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or requiredin instances where such broadening phrases may be absent. The use of theterm “module” does not imply that the components or functionalitydescribed or claimed as part of the module are all configured in acommon package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of amodule, whether control logic or other components, may be combined in asingle package or separately maintained and may further be distributedacross multiple locations.

Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described interms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations.As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art afterreading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their variousalternatives may be implemented without confinement to the illustratedexamples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying descriptionshould not be construed as mandating a particular architecture orconfiguration.

1. A method for providing email notification for transaction cardcustomization as a stand-in service on behalf of a transaction cardissuer, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a customized transactioncard image that is submitted for approval by a transaction cardapplicant; (b) storing the customized image on a database of atransaction card franchiser; (c) sending email information of theapplicant to an email generation engine; (d) reviewing the customizedimage submitted by the applicant; (e) approving or rejecting thecustomized image; and (f) generating an approval or rejection email andsending the email to the applicant.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein(f) is performed by the transaction card franchiser on behalf of thetransaction card issuer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein steps (a),(b), (c), (d) and (e) are performed by the transaction card issuer. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the customized image is submitted forapproval by the transaction card applicant using a card customizationservices website of the transaction card issuer.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the applicant is prompted to provide email information alongwith the customized image.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein an imagereviewer of the transaction card issuer approves or rejects thecustomized image based on predetermined image guidelines.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the approval or rejection email comprises anautomatically generated, pre-formatted, approval or rejection email. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating anaudit trail of the customized image and emailing the audit trail to theissuer and the applicant.
 9. A method for providing email notificationfor transaction card customization as a stand-in service on behalf of atransaction card issuer, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving acustomized transaction card image that is submitted for approval by atransaction card applicant; (b) storing the customized image on adatabase of a transaction card franchiser; (c) sending email informationof the applicant to an email generation engine; (d) approving orrejecting the customized image; and (e) generating an approval orrejection email and sending the email to the applicant; wherein steps(a), (b), (c) and (d) are performed by the transaction card issuer;wherein step (e) is performed by the transaction card franchiser onbehalf of the transaction card issuer.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein step (d) includes reviewing the customized image and approvingor rejecting the customized image based on predetermined imageguidelines.
 11. A method for billing a transaction card applicant forthe cost of a new customized transaction card as a stand-in service onbehalf of a transaction card issuer, comprising the steps of: (a)sending an approved customized transaction card image of an applicant toa database of the transaction card issuer; (b) sending information aboutthe applicant and the cost of the new transaction card to a transactionformatter; (c) reformatting the information to produce a billingauthorization record and submitting the record to a clearing system of atransaction card franchiser; (d) directly applying the cost of the newtransaction card to an account of the applicant within a billing systemof the transaction card issuer; and (e) mailing an invoice statement tothe applicant including the cost of the new transaction card.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein step (d) is performed by the transactioncard franchiser on behalf of the transaction card issuer.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein steps (a), (b), (c) and (e) are performed by thetransaction card issuer.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) isperformed using a secure transfer mechanism including a franchiserfirewall.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) is performed bythe transaction formatter.
 16. A method for billing a transaction cardapplicant for the cost of a new customized transaction card as astand-in service on behalf of a transaction card issuer, comprising thesteps of: (a) sending an approved customized transaction card image ofan applicant to a database of the transaction card issuer; (b) producinga billing authorization record including the cost of the new transactioncard and submitting the record to a clearing system of a transactioncard franchiser; and (c) directly applying the cost of the newtransaction card to an account of the applicant within a billing systemof the transaction card issuer.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein step(c) is performed by the transaction card franchiser on behalf of thetransaction card issuer.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein steps (a)and (b) are performed by the transaction card issuer.
 19. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the billing authorization record is produced by atransaction formatter, which reformats information about the applicantand the cost of the new transaction card.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the information about the applicant and the cost of the newtransaction card are sent to the transaction formatter using a securetransfer mechanism including a franchiser firewall.
 21. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising the step of mailing an invoice statement tothe applicant including the cost of the new transaction card.